tongues praise, then the orjs^ans in God's gpiritual temple are going. How satl is it, that God hath no more of liis glory from us this way ! Many are full of murniurings and discontents, but seldom do they bring glory to God, by giving him tlie praise due to his name. We read of the saints having harps in their hands, Rev. v. 8., the emblems of praise : many have tears in their eyes, and complaints in tlieir mouth, but few have harps in their hand, blessing and glo- rifying of God. Let us honour God this way. Praise is the quit-rent we pay to God ; while God renews our lease, we must renew our rent.
A. 12. We glorify God, by being zealous for his name : Numb. xxv. 11., " Phinehas hath turned my wrath away, while he was zealous for my sake." Zeal is a mLxed af- fection, a compound of love and anger ; it carries forth our love to God, and anger a- gainst sin in a most intense manner. Zeal is impatient of God's dishonour : a Chris- tian fired with zeal, takes a dishonour done to God worse than an injury done to him- self, Rev. ii. 2., " Thou canst not bear them that are evil." Our Saviour Christ did thus glorify his Father : he, being baptized with a spirit of zeal, drove the money- changers out of the temple, John ii. 14, 17., *' The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up."
A. 13. We glorify God, when we have an eye at God, both in our natural and in our civil actions : 1. In our natural actions. In eating and drinking, 1 Cor. x. 31., " Whether therefore ye eat or drink, do all to the glory of God." A gracious person holds the golden bridle of temperance; he takes his meat as a medicine to heal the de- cays of nature, and that he may be the fit- ter, by the strength he receives, for the ser- vice of God ; he makes his food, not fuel for lust, but help to duty. 2. In buyiug and selling, we do all to the glory of God. The wicked live upon unj ust gain, either by falsifying the balances, Hos. xii. 7., " The balances of deceit are in his hands." While men make their weights lighter, they make their sins heavier; or, by exacting more than the commodity is worth, they do not for fourscore write down fifty, but for fifty, fourscore ; they exact double the price that a thing is worth. But when we buy and
sell to the glory of God, when in our buy- ing and selling, we observe that golden maxim, " To do to others, as we would iiave them to do to us," Matth. vii. 12. Wlicn we do sell our commodities, that we do not sell our conscience. Acts xxiv. 16., " Herein do I exercise myself, to liave al- ways a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men." This is to glorify God, when we have an eye at God in our civil and natural actions, and will do nothing that may reflect any blemish on religion.
A. 14. We glorify God, by labouring to draw others to God. We convert others, and so make them instruments of glorifying God. We should be both diamonds and loadstones ; diamonds for the lustre of grace, and loadstones for our attractive virtue in drawing others to Christ : Gal. iv. 19., " My little children, of whom I travail," &c. This is a great way of glorifying God, when we break the devil's prison, and turn men from the power of Satan to God.
A. 15. We gloi-ify God in an high man- ner, when we suffer for God, and seal the gospel with our blood: John xxi. 18, 19., " When thou shalt be old, another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldst not : this spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God." God's glory shines in the ashes of his martyrs, Isa. xxiv. 15., " Wherefore glorify the Lord in the fires." Micaiah was in the prison, — Isaiah was sawn asunder, — Paul beheaded, — Luke hanged on an olive-tree, — thus did they by their death glorify God. The sufferings of the primitive saints did honour God, and make the gospel famous in the world. What would others say ? See what a good master they serve, and how they love him, that they wall venture the loss of all in his service. The glory of Christ's kingdom doth not stand in wovldly pomp and grandeur, as other kings ; but it is seen in the cheerful sufferings of his peo- ple. The saints of old " loved not tlieir lives to the death," Rev. xii. 11. They snatched up torments as so many crowns. God grant we may thus glorify him, if he calls us to it. Many pray, " Let this cup pass away," but few, " thy will be done."
A. 16. We glorify God, when we give God the glory of all we do. Herod when
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MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD